Month: August 2008

When you don’t see me posting in the next few days, don’t go worrying about me… I’ll be out of town camping with nephews and daughter… It won’t be because I got sucked into some virtual world role playing game or anything like that…

This flower is called Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria). It gets its name from the fact that the fuzzy, purple stamens look somewhat like moth antennae. It comes in white or yellow. We have both varieties at Audubon.

I snapped the yellow one along the Universal Trail near the building and the white one out on the embankment of Big Pond.

I’ve been busy this week racking up lots of great outdoor experiences… cramming so much into the summer days that I have no time for proper blogging. For me, “proper blogging” means a little more research on what I’ve found or learned or experienced to go along with the pictures.

I couldn’t resist going back to the Westside Overland Trail to get some photos of the fungi that I mentioned in a previous post. So last Saturday, I returned. The sun kept peeking out from behind the clouds, so I hoped to be able to get a few decent shots in natural light. I don’t know what any of these are called, but I just had to post them…

All this from a Saturday afternoon walk… And there were several species not pictured here… either too far gone, or too difficult to photograph due to light conditions or location…

This world is so incredibly beautiful and there is such a diversity of life… It takes my breath away.

This is Jamestown Audubon’s first experience offering an intergenerational Elderhostel program. The theme is insects, but participants will also take general nature walks and birding walks. They will kayak in two different locations and take a ride on Chautauqua Lake on the Summer Wind.

I got to spend Sunday evening and a good chunk of Monday with our small but pleasant group. Here are some highlights:

Sarah came along and calmed a Water Snake for a Close Encounter and some snake education:

Water Snakes have keeled scales which makes for a rough texture on top:

The belly is as smooth as can be:

We also saw a Garter Snake, Leopard Frogs, and Grasshoppers along the way, along with lots of funky fungi and strange parasitic wildflowers.

In the afternoon, the group proved to be rather adept at catching dragonflies. Here’s a Halloween Pennant:

And check out this mating pair of Eastern Forktails, caught in midflight:

So, welcome Elderhostel participants. I hope you have a great week. More pictures from the Elderhostel experience can be found here and will be updated throughout the week: FLICKR PIX